


Visits

by rebel_wren



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Family, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Kanan Jarrus Talked About, One-Shot, Parenthood, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 15:01:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18919405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_wren/pseuds/rebel_wren
Summary: Luke Skywalker makes a visit to Hera's home, and later Hera makes a visit to someone else on Lothal.





	Visits

Hera opened the door, wearing her loose sleep-clothes, and was stunned by the face she saw staring back at her.

“Skywalker?”

Luke smiled back at her. “Hello, General Syndulla.”

“It’s a little late, isn’t it?” Hera said with a chuckle.

He nodded. “Yeah, I guess it is. But can I come in? I have some things to show you.”

Hera considered him, and then stepped back, letting him come into the house. There was a lamp on in the living room, but that was the only light in her home. Hera sat down in an armchair, and Luke took the couch across from her, putting his bag on the floor. A low table was between them, and Luke fished a holoprojector out of his bag and put it on the table.

“We’ll have to be quiet,” Hera said. “Jacen is asleep.”

“We will be. I just thought you might want to help me with something.”

Hera raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were going to show me something?”

“I am, I just need you to help me find it first.”

Hera frowned, and Luke put a hand up.

“I know, let me explain,” he said. “I’ve been looking through a lot of old Jedi files lately, and-”

“If this is about taking Jacen to a Jedi school, I’ve told you my answer,” Hera said. Her demeanor had become much colder than it was just a moment earlier. “He can make that choice on his own when he’s old enough.”

Luke shook his head. “It’s not that. I’ve been looking at their records. A lot of them are incomplete thanks to the Empire, but I found one that’s mostly intact. It has the names, homeworlds, and pictures of the Jedi younglings. I understand that Jacen’s father was a Jedi padawan when the Order fell,” Luke said. Hera was still eyeing him cautiously, but she seemed curious. “Named Kanan Jarrus, right?”

Hera swallowed, and nodded stiffly. “Right.”

“But there is no record of a Kanan Jarrus with the Jedi.”

“That’s because Kanan Jarrus wasn’t his birth name,” Hera said quickly. “He changed it to hide from the Empire.”

“That’s exactly what I thought. Do you know his original name?”

“I do.”

“If you give it to me, and I can find his file, then I’ll give it to you,” Luke said.

Hera stared silently at him. It was late, and she was tired, and she couldn’t figure out if Skywalker had an agenda or not. She didn’t know him as well as she knew his sister or Solo, but he didn’t seem the type to trick her.

“Why would you do that?”

Luke smiled gently. “Because you’re his family, and… I didn’t have anything like that about my father growing up. But Jacen can.”

Hera nodded and slowly smiled back at him, touched. “Thank you, Luke.”

“His name?”

“Caleb Dume.”

Luke opened the holoprojector, and started scrolling through the files. There were countless, and he was going so fast Hera didn’t even know how he could possibly be reading them. He kept going, and going, and then suddenly stopped. He selected the one that read Caleb Dume.

The file opened up, and Luke pushed the holoprojector over to Hera. She started reading the file. His master’s name was on there, as well as his birthday, both things that Hera already knew. She stopped suddenly when she got to his homeworld.

“Kanan was from Lothal?”

“Apparently.”

He had parents listed too (though his father was highlighted in red), as well as an address.

“Do you know if his mother still lives there?” Hera asked.

“It’s possible,” Luke said. “But these are really old files, and they haven’t been updated since the Clone Wars. They’re very out of date.”

Hera nodded, and selected the hologram section of the file, and let out an audible “aw” sound when she was greeted with a young Kanan. Hera smiled tearily as she started to go through the pictures.

Young Caleb Dume shared the same eyes, nose, and other features of Kanan Jarrus, but his face was rounder, and softer, but the twinkle in his eye Kanan had was apparently something from his childhood.

“Jacen really does look like him,” she said. Luke chuckled, and plugged something into the holoprojector for a few moments, before handing it over to Hera.

“It’s all yours,” Luke said. “I better get going.”

Hera nodded as he took the portable holoprojector and put it back into his bag. Hera toyed with the drive he’d given her, and set it down on the table to stand up and see Luke out.

“Thank you, Luke. I appreciate it very much. I’ll show it to Jacen tomorrow, and the rest of my family too.”

Luke nodded. He was a very polite kid, and Hera knew Ezra would’ve probably gotten along well with him (of course, Ezra seemed to get along well with everybody). She hoped they’d be able to meet with each other someday.

“It was nice seeing you, General Syndulla.”

“You can call me Hera.”

Luke tilted his head. “Really? Han told me you didn’t like that.”

“You’re not Solo,” Hera said with a chuckle.

Luke laughed and gave Hera a quick wave goodbye. She closed the door, and picked the drive back up off the table, running over it with her thumb.

* * *

 

Jacen was practically bouncing in the co-pilot’s seat of the  _ Ghost  _ when Hera entered the cockpit, and she laughed.

“Someone’s excited, huh?”

Jacen nodded eagerly, and Hera bent down to kiss his forehead. Hyperspace had the cockpit glowing blue, making Jacen’s hair look a little more teal than green.

“Are we almost there?” Jacen asked.

The navigator rang out as Hera sat herself down in the pilot’s chair, and Hera smiled at Jacen.

“Well, let’s see,” she said. She pulled the ship out of hyperspace, and they hung over Lothal, a familiar marble of tans and blues and whites. Hera felt a soothing familiarity and a sense of homecoming, but also pain- Lothal always gave her a mix of emotions. Jacen beamed gleefully, and Hera started to pull the ship down to land. Her comm rang as she neared the town of Kothal.

“Incoming VCX-100 freighter, you’re approved for landing in hangar nineteen on the southern end. Welcome back, Spectres.”

Hera smiled- it was nice being able to land in a hangar and not just in the grasses of Lothal anymore- and she pulled the  _ Ghost  _ into the hangar bay and landed. She looked over to Jacen, who was still beaming.

“You ready?” Hera asked. Jacen nodded, and Hera stood up and took his hand. He walked with her out of the  _ Ghost _ , down the ramp. Hera tightened her hold on his hand as they walked through the busy hangar crowd. Some people stared and watched as Hera passed, whispering to each other, as they often did on Lothal. The  _ Ghost _ crew had become a famous there, though Hera wasn’t exactly a big fan of the attention, especially when she was with Jacen.

The sun hit their eyes once they were out of the hangar, although the crowd thinned out greatly. Hera pulled Jacen through the streets, watching the street signs for the one she remembered from Luke’s file. She stopped when she felt Jacen tug on her arm, and looked down to see that he was pointing at a stand that sold toys.

“Mama, look!”

The stand was selling a variety of handmade dolls, all in what appeared to be representations of rebel pilot uniforms. They were all hanging up around the frame of the stand and there were some laying across the table, though it was hard to exactly make them out.

“Do you want one?”

Jacen nodded quickly, and Hera smiled. “Let’s go see how much they are, okay?”

Jacen beamed, and Hera let him quickly guide her over to the stand. The furry, horned Gotal vendor behind it was ducked below the stand, doing something, and Hera and Jacen both waited, and Jacen looked at all the dolls. Hera picked him up so that he could have a better look at them, and he pointed at one in the very top corner.

“Look at that one!”

Hera followed his finger, and looked up to the top corner of the sticks standing from the stand. The doll Jacen was pointing to had a green head, with two long lekku hanging out the back of it. Hera smiled at Jacen.

“Hmm, that one looks kinda like me, doesn’t it?”

Jacen smiled and nodded. The Gotal finally stood up straight, and looked stunned at Hera.

“Ge- General Syndulla?” he stammered. “I… welcome back to Lothal.”

Hera smiled. “Thank you. My son here is looking at your dolls.”

The Gotal nodded, and smiled at Jacen. “Pick anything you want.”

“Anything?” Jacen said with a wide grin.

“Well,” Hera said. “How much do they cost?”

“For you? Nothing,” the Gotal replied.

Jacen’s grinned got even wider, and he pointed back up to the doll that looked like Hera. “I want that one!”

Hera laughed. “Are you sure? You’ve already got a real life version of that one.”

Jacen nodded, and the Gotal reached up and took the doll down from the stand, handing it to Jacen.

“I can see why you picked that one,” the Gotal said to Jacen as he replaced that one with a near-identical green Twi’lek doll. “It’s very popular here.”

Hera set Jacen down, and he was already playing with his doll. She reached for her wallet, but the Gotal shook his head.

“You don’t have to pay me anything.”

Hera pulled out some credits, and put them down on the stand.

“It’s just a tip,” she said. “Thank you so much for that.”

Hera reached down, and Jacen swapped his doll into his other hand to take hers. She walked with him away from the stand, and down the street. Hera watched the street signs closely, taking turns eventually until she got to the right one.

“Jacen, can you help me look for the house with the number 197?”

Jacen nodded, and they both walked down the street looking at all of the numbers. They were counting down in the direction that they were walking. 201… 200… 199… 198… perfect.

Hera squeezed Jacen’s hand, and felt mynocks in her stomach. Suddenly, she understood Kanan’s reaction to meeting her father more than she ever had. She slowly approached the door, and tensed up as she was right to it. She felt Jacen squeeze her hand, and she smiled at him.

“Ready?” Hera asked.

Jacen nodded, and Hera lifted her free hand up to knock twice on the door.

“I’m coming!” an old woman’s voice called from inside the house. Hera swallowed hard, and smoothed her pants with her hand, straightening her posture as much as possible. She took a deep breath, and then the door opened.

The woman standing there was an older human woman. Her hair was pulled back tightly, and the front of it was tucked under a green bandana tied into a headband, but Hera could see some of the greying roots. Her face was soft and motherly, with some wrinkles throughout it, and she was very familiar to Hera, despite this being their first meeting. Her eyes were the same turquoise as Jacen’s, with the same sparkle as his father’s, and sitting among skin of the same complexion of both of them.

Hera immediately knew that she had the right house.

“Are you Mrs. Dume?” Hera asked.

The woman nodded. She was staring wide-eyed at Hera, clearly a bit awestruck.

Hera smiled. “I’m Hera Syndulla, I was wondering if I could come in and talk to you.”

Mrs. Dume smiled at Hera. “Of course, of course. I am… so honored, General.”

Hera stepped inside, along with Jacen. “You can call me Hera.”

The woman took them to a small sitting room, where there was an armchair across from a couch that Hera sat on with Jacen. Jacen took to playing with his doll, occasionally looking up at Mrs. Dume, considering her.

“This is my son, Jacen,” Hera said.

“Hi!” Jacen chirped quickly.

Hera laughed, and so did Mrs. Dume. “Hello, Jacen, it’s nice to meet you,” Mrs. Dume said as she laced her fingers. “Can I get you anything? Water? Caf?”

Hera shook her head. “We’re alright, thank you.”

Mrs. Dume slowly sat in the armchair, fidgeting and wringing her hands. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Hera took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask about your son.”

Mrs. Dume frowned. “My son?”

Hera nodded. “Did you have a son that you gave to the Jedi when he was young?”

“I… did. I did, yes.”

“Caleb Dume?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Dume replied stiffly. “But if you’re looking for him, I- I don’t think you’ll have any luck. I believe he died with the rest of the Jedi.”

Hera shook her head. “No,” she said softly. Hera had rehearsed this conversation in her head a thousand times over the whole flight to Lothal, but the words seemed to be harder to find now that Mrs. Dume was in front of her. “He didn’t die in the Purge. He escaped, and took a new name.”

Mrs. Dume’s eyes kept flicking over the parts of Hera’s face, taking in all of her words, her eyes slowly widening.

“Kanan Jarrus?” Mrs. Dume whispered in disbelief.

Hera nodded, her eyes locked with Mrs. Dume’s. Mrs. Dume shook her head.

“I don’t believe it. He was so close, for so long, and…”

“I know he would have loved to meet you,” Hera said. “And I have this,” she handed Mrs. Dume a drive, similar to the one that Luke had given her a couple days ago. “It’s holographs and holovids of Kanan. Some are from the Jedi records, but most of them are mine.”

As Mrs. Dume took the drive, her hand shook, and she turned it over. Hera interlocked her own fingers and rested her hands on her lap.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Dume said softly.

“Kanan was a wonderful man,” Hera said. “He was so kind, and compassionate, and funny, and he really cared about everyone he loved. He was devoted, and he-” Hera swallowed a lump in her throat. “He always found the answer whenever we needed one. I know you probably would’ve been so proud if you met him.”

Mrs. Dume wiped tears from her face. “I am proud,” she said, her voice cracking, just like Hera’s had. “I am so proud. Thank you so much.”

Hera smiled, thinking of which story about Kanan to tell Mrs. Dume first.

* * *

 

Hera was laughing with Mrs. Dume at the last Kanan story she told, about him setting their stove on fire.

“He really sounds like he was an amazing young man,” Mrs. Dume remarked.

“He was,” Hera said. “I was so lucky to know him.”

Mrs. Dume nodded. “It sounds like it.”

Hera looked over to Jacen, who was still playing with his doll, mumbling dialogue to himself in some story she wasn’t following. Hera nodded to Mrs. Dume and chewed on her lower lip. “And, um, there is one more thing…” Hera swallowed hard, and put an arm around Jacen.

“What?” Mrs. Dume asked.

“Jacen, uh… Jacen is his.

Mrs. Dume’s eyebrows raised quickly, and she gave Jacen a long hard look. Hera could practically see the wheels turning in her brain, and she felt bad, like she was overwhelming this poor woman with so much in one day.

“Really?” Mrs. Dume asked.

Hera nodded, and Mrs. Dume stood up, slowly approaching Jacen.

“Hey, Jacen,” she said.

Jacen set his doll aside and bounced a little in his seat, clearly excited to be receiving attention again.

“Hey!”

He extended both of his arms outward, and Mrs. Dume quickly wrapped her arms around him in a hug, which he returned eagerly. Hera smiled as Mrs. Dume held him snugly, tightly. When she finally pulled away, Jacen beamed at her.

“You’re my gramma, right?”

Mrs. Dume’s lower lip quivered. “Yes, I am,” she said tearfully.

* * *

 

Jacen hugged Mrs. Dume again as they were saying goodbye, and Hera chuckled. “You’ll have to come visit sometime,” Hera said. “I’m sure Jacen would love to show you around the house.”

Jacen nodded quickly. “You could meet Chopper,” he said.

Hera smiled. “I’ll also have to introduce you to some of my old friends. I’m sure everyone has a story about Kanan they’d love to tell you.”

Mrs. Dume nodded. “I will. On Yavin IV, right?”

“That’s the one. It’s been so nice meeting you. I know this is probably all overwhelming in one day, but-”

“Please,” Mrs. Dume said. “It’s been so wonderful to hear about him. I never thought I’d get to know anything. And I’ll look at all of these pictures.”

Hera nodded. “I’m so glad.”

Jacen yawned, and both Mrs. Dume and Hera laughed. “I guess it is pretty late,” Hera said. “I’ll keep in touch with you.”

She waved goodbye to Mrs. Dume, and led Jacen out the door, holding tight onto his hand as they walked through the lamplit streets back to the hangar. Jacen had his pilot doll tucked underneath his arm as they walked.

“She was nice, wasn’t she Jacen?”

“Mmhmm,” Jacen responded. Then, after a thoughtful pause, he asked “Did Daddy really go to a Jedi school as a baby?”

Hera was hesitant to answer. “Yes, he did.”

“Why?”

Hera swallowed as she took Jacen around the turn of a street. “The Jedi offered to take him, and I guess it’s what your Gramma thought was best for him.”

“Why?”

Hera shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m sure she had her reasons.”

“Are you gonna take me to a Jedi school?”

“No, sweetheart, I’m not. But if you want to go when you’re old enough, you’ll be allowed to do that.”

Jacen nodded, and he looked down at the doll in his other hand. “I don’t wanna be a Jedi,” he said. “I wanna be a pilot.”

Hera laughed, and she felt some relief wash over her. “That’s good, Jacen. You can be whatever you want to be.” 

 


End file.
